Cylinder vacuum cleaners generally comprise a main cleaner body which is dragged along by a user. The main body contains separating apparatus for separating dirt and dust from an airflow. Airflow is introduced to the main body via a hose and wand assembly which is manipulated by a user, a cleaning tool normally being attached to the distal end of the wand. The hose and wand assembly comprises a length of flexible hose which is attached to the main body of the cleaner and a rigid wand. The wand typically has two tubes which are telescopically connected to one another. One of the tubes is rigidly connected to a handle and the other tube telescopes within that tube. Some form of locking device or ratchet mechanism is provided for securing the two tubes in a particular position with respect to one another. In this way, the overall length of the wand is adapted to suit the physical dimensions (height or arm length) of the user. An example of this type of wand is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,083,041.
There is a trend for vacuum cleaners to be made more compact so that they can be more conveniently stored. While there have been many examples of cleaners with a compact cleaner body, most of these cleaners are still supplied with a bulky two-stage wand which is difficult to store during those times when the cleaner is not required. From a packaging point of view, the size of the wand often defines the minimum size of box which is required to ship the product.
It is known to provide a wand with three stages. By providing a higher number of stages the overall length of the wand, when the wand has been fully collapsed, is shorter than with a two stage wand. However, the provision of a wand with three or more stages increases the complexity of the wand for a user. In particular, it can be more time consuming and confusing to extend the wand for use and to retract the wand for storage.